COMPARISON OF CANADIAN DIGITAL TOPOGRAPHIC MAPPING PRODUCTS
Natural Resources Canada 2007/28 April 4, 2007
Canada's New Government Provides Free Online Access to Digital Mapping Data
OTTAWA - Experts and other users of digital topographic data will no longer have to pay to use digital versions of government maps and data.(link).
Download directory for 300 dpi geocoded TIF files(Index of /pub/canmatrix).
Free Canadian topographic maps in Garmin's format are avialable from The Ibycus Topo Map Project.
Notice : The prices below are longer being updated so some of the links may be dead.
Prices are as of December 2003 and do not iclude taxes or shipping and handling.
Canadian Digital Topographic Maps
| |
E Topo Digital Maps |
Spectrum Digital Imaging |
Fugawi |
SoftMap Alberta Topo50 |
Touratech QVN Maps |
NorthStar Digital Maps |
Toporama |
Calibrated Toporama |
| CD Name |
Central Alberta |
Mtn Parks 1010-REC |
Cdn Rockies |
Vol 1 SW Alberta |
B.C. # 1 |
Individual Map Sheets |
Individual Map Sheets |
Index Four |
| Cost of CD |
$99.95 (2) |
$99.00 (4) |
$99.00 (1) |
$62.95 (16) |
$49.95 (3) |
$ N/A |
Free (15) |
$80.00 (17) |
| # of 1:50K Maps |
320 |
148 |
39 |
168 |
208 |
1 |
1 |
2169 |
| $ per 1:50K Map |
$0.31 |
$0.67 *** |
$2.53 ^ |
$0.38 |
$0.24 ** |
$5.00 |
Free |
$0.04 |
| c/w 1:250K Maps |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Individual Map Sheets |
Individual Map Sheets |
Yes |
| Format |
PNG |
PNG & Ozf2 |
BSB* |
Proprietary |
PNG |
GeoTiff |
GIF |
GIF |
| DPI |
150 |
150 |
254 |
? |
? |
254 |
? |
? |
| c/w Software |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Prices as of December 2003 do not iclude taxes or shipping and handling. The bracketed numbers refers to list of vendor links at bottom of this page and indicates source of price shown. CD prices are for maps of my local area and prices will vary for CDs of other areas.
* Fugawi offers selected CDs in TIFF format or in their own proprietary format.
** Touratech QVN Maps is now offering "Prairies on DVD" 744 1:50000 maps for $189.95 resulting in a price of $0.25 per map. The DVD includes 1:250000 maps but coverage with 1:50000 maps is incomplete. See their map index.
*** Spectrum Digital Imaging now offers individual map sheets for download at a price of $10.00 per sheet in Geotiff (DRG), PNG and Ozf2 formats. (Ozf2 is a compression format developed by OziExplorer creator, Des Newman, which allows digital map images or orthophoto
images to be used on a PocketPC with OziExplorer CE software)
^ Fugawi will be offering seamless maps on DVD for each province for $99.95. The Alberta DVD would contain about 757 maps resulting in a price of $0.13 per map. The DVD includes 1:250000 maps and elevation data. Maps in are FX4 format which can only be used with Fugawi software. Only Newfoundland and Ontario are currently available. It is not known if their previous products will be discontinued.
Samples of the various types of digital maps are shown here. Additional samples of digital mapping and satellite photos can be found at Canadian Information Systems
Please note that none of these products can be loaded into a GPSr. The maps can be used with mapping software (such as Fugawi or OziExplorer) on a PC, laptop or PDA.
Precalibrations for use with OziExplorer or Fugawi º
| |
E Topo Digital Maps |
Spectrum Digital Imaging |
Fugawi |
SoftMap Alberta Topo50 |
Touratech QVN Maps |
NorthStar Digital Maps |
Toporama** |
| OziExplorer |
Yes |
Yes |
? |
No |
Yes |
? |
No |
| Fugawi º |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
º Calibration files for Fugawi (*.jpr) will also work with Memory Map Navigator. The SoftMap products will only work with Fugawi.
** Note: Precalibrated copies of the Toporama maps are available for a fee. Canadian Information Systems and Chuck Gale (cgale@playground.net) offer copies with calibration files for both programs.
Links
Canadian Digital Topographic Map Producers
E Topo
Spectrum Digital Imaging
Fugawi Maps
SoftMap
Touratech QV Maps
NorthStar Digital Maps and Navigation Software
Canadian Digital Topographic Map Vendors
1. GPS Central.ca
2. Map Town
3. CanadianMaps.ca
4. Prairie Geomatics Ltd
5. Federal Publications Inc
6. Federal Maps Inc
7. Deakin Equipment
8. Radioworld.ca
9. Wholesale Sports Online
10. World of Maps
11. Canadian Canoe Routes
12. Bgts-Maps
13. TrailPeak.com - Digital Maps of BC
14. Jamesstr.com
15. Centre for Topographic Information in Sherbrooke
16. Walmart Canada - Only brick and mortar stores in Canada
17. Canadian Information Systems - Calibrated Toporama Maps
18. cgale@playground.net - Calibrated Toporama Maps
19. Island Blue
20. Digital Projections
21. CanadaMapSales.com - Govt. of Manitoba
22. NAVSIM Technology Inc.
General Information Links
GPS Information.net
Dale DePriest's Navigation and GPS articles
GPS News Group
GPS Nuts
A Practical Guide to GPS - UTM
Canadian Base Network - Official Survey Markers To Check The Accuracy of Your GPS
Peter Bennett's GPS and NMEA Site
Canadian Information Systems
Connectors and Prebuilt Cables for your Garmin GPS. Located in Alberta
Purple Open Projects (POP), Garmin cables, GPS cables, Garmen plugs and connectors
Travel by GPS - Tutorials and
GPS How to Articles, Product Information and Reviews
Keenpeople.com - Custom Garmin Map Creation Tutorials, Articles and more
Lockheed Martin Website - Pictures of GPS Satellites
Updated 2008/05/14
...and that's all
